Free Snedronningen (Snow Queen) Sampler

Hope you are all enjoying Scandinavian Week on our blog so far! Today we have a special treat for you: a delightful pattern made especially for &Stitches by Jacob de Graaf of Modern Folk. You can download Jacob's original Snow Queen Sampler HERE. (If you decide to share this great pattern, please refer back to this blogpost. Thank you!)

This Snow Queen sampler design combines lots of things we love: it features deer, a stylish snowflake and a quote from a Fairy Tale by the famous Danish Fairy Tale writer Hans Christian Andersen. Here's what Jacob has to say about it:

"Last month Nicole asked me if I maybe fancied contributing something to the &Stitches blog. I'm happy to present you with this free little "Snow Queen" sampler pattern!

Scandinavian embroidery holds something magical: the stars, the stylized little people & animals that occupy them, their gorgeous borders. They've always had tremendous appeal to me. It was a couple of years ago that I fancied trying some Scandinavian patterns. I had a hard time finding ones I liked, as I didn't want to directly replicate antique samplers. I figured, that if I were to make something I liked, I'd have to design it as well.

After receiving  positive responses from those who'd seen my work, I decided to share my patterns with other likeminded people through a little shop on Etsy called Modern Folk. If you would like to try the pattern but want a little help on how to get started with cross-stitch, make sure to check out my website. There you will find a whole section dedicated to the basic techniques of cross-stitch.

Now then! Let us begin. (Se saa! Nu begynde vi) With these wonderful words Hans Christian Andersen began his story Snedronningen (The Snow Queen), which is one of my all-time favourite fairy tales. And with these words (in the original Danish) I wanted to adorn this little Snow Queen Sampler."

Be sure to visit the Modern Folk shop for more fabulous traditional patterns with a modern twist like this gorgeous Christmas Sampler Pack.  Thank you so much Jacob for your generosity. I'm not sure whether I first want to get my needle and thread out to start stitching or start reading The Snow Queen again!